This past Thursday I attended the in person opening of the Monalog Collective show at the Gallery 270 in Westwood, New Jersey.  It was wonderful to see and I had a great time!  There was a nice turnout and I met some wonderful people. An interesting point of discussion was raised during one of my conversations … that being the primacy of the image over analog vs. digital considerations.

So what matters most … the image itself or how it’s made? Interesting!  Here is my view, especially as it relates to black and white pictures. Obviously the image is what we see and it must be compelling in the first place. But then there is the question of how it appears on paper, and then what goes into making it a reality. When I look at a compelling and well-executed film-based silver gelatin, platinum, collodion or carbon transfer black and white photograph I am struck by three things.  First the image itself, then the beauty of it … in this case an image that has depth to it that I can see into the paper itself, and finally my thoughts of all hours and craft that have gone into creating it.

When I look at almost any digital black and white print where the subject matter is interesting, I quickly sense a hyper reality or harsh hyperrealism that detracts from whatever chance the image had. I can spot it mile a way.  It’s so overly dramatic, often because it’s so easy to do. Then there is the look itself; there’s no depth. What you see is on the paper surface only and it’s looks … different. There’s a reason why some digital software tries to emulate the look of Tri-X! In this regard, I recently attended a show of a famous photographer. The pictures were all black and white, very large and mostly digital. There was no contest between the small number of equally large prints made in the darkroom from medium format negatives and the digital pictures. The difference in emotional impact for me was simply staggering! Finally there is the matter of the digital “workflow”.  “Shoot” 500 pictures in an afternoon and hopefully find a keeper. Then Photoshop it on your computer screen and finally print it out while your doing something else.

Look, I understand that in the commercial world digital reigns and it’s not going away. I get it; it’s about speed and convenience. But for personal work, for your art, I’m sorry.  Yes the image matters, but there is so much more.

What matters most … the image itself or how it’s made? Well for me it’s simple … both!

Stay safe,

Michael